11 Music Apps Every Artist Needs

For DJs, artists, producers, and composers on the go, today's top music apps are tempting and powerful

Philip Merrill

GRAMMYs

Oct 12, 2017 - 10:56 am

Apps are everywhere. Today, the latest and greatest must-have apps put the power of music in your pocket. Whether using Jammcard to hook up with other musicians in L.A., MIXhalo for soundboard-quality streaming, or selling classic gear on Reverb, the convenience of apps on the go can even overpower sentimental reluctance to step away from larger, traditional pieces of gear. Here are 11 tools you can take anywhere with you.

Audiobus, $9.99
Audiobus for iOS builds, supports and saves configurations of audio and MIDI streams. And it's considered an essential utility in addition to GarageBand. The lean on-screen symbols visually represent these custom-built signal chains while enabling versatile touch-control. New features include more sophisticated MIDI support and a simple mixer for input-audio levels.

Caustic, $9.99
Caustic by Single Cell Software for Android/iOS, somewhat self-consciously, has it all: drum machines, a large selection of synthesizers, many effect types (with 2 aux sends available per instrument), mix/master plug-ins, and a song sequencer to tie it all together. The easy-to-use interactive display shows each of these components stacked like old-school rack gear, allowing intuitive navigation with the analog feel of a recording studio.

djay Pro, $9.99
djay Pro by Algoriddim for Android/iOS gives a taste of what their larger systems can do to support performing DJs. Their signature approach to media remixing and mashups carries into other Algoriddim products and relates to djay Pro's Spotify integration. If you love mixing tracks on the go and want to keep your sounds in sync, this will let you do it.

edjing Mix, free
edjing Mix by edjing for Android/iOS provides wide-ranging features that DJs need alongside support for local files, Deezer, Spotify and SoundCloud. If its effects, EQs, and BPM-detection aren't enough, the in-app store lets you buy more features. edjing provides plenty of nice starting points for the entry-level novice and seasoned turntablist alike.

Final Touch, $9.99
Final Touch by Positive Grid for iPad provides pro-quality control over the mastering chain. Details include multiband dynamic processors, pre and post equalizers, a stereo imager, reverb controls, and a final maximizer for overall loudness. As the company puts it, the goal is to, "deliver masters that sound not just louder but clearer, wider, fuller, and more powerful and detailed."

GarageBand & Music Memos, free
Not everyone can say they have learned how to use Garageband & Music Memos by Apple for iOS, but if you record music and have the opportunity, it's a skill well worth learning. Some artists/producers consider it creatively transparent, doing what's needed while seeming like it's not even there.

iMaschine 2, $9.99
iMaschine 2 for iOS translates the app's developer Native Instruments’ beat-making process onto mobile, offering 16 sample-pads, dual x-y pads, and tools for arranging and sequencing. Targeting the ability to "make music anywhere" and create full tracks, the interface is loaded with visually distinctive shortcuts, such as quick sample recording or the "Smart Play" keyboard that keeps improvisation in the right key. Expansion packs are available.

Launchpad, free
Launchpad by Novation for iOS is a MIDI controller that relies on an 8x6 grid of colored squares to play mixes and trigger loops and one-shot samples, and includes 16 club-style effects. This interface hails back to Launchpad's release as a piece of hardware gear in 2009, designed to integrate with Ableton Live. It expanded electronic musicians and DJs' minds into a more playful, performance-friendly sense of what could be done, and this app brings that creative freedom to mobile.

Remixlive, free
Remixlive by Mixvibes for Android/iOS supports a loop grid, a drum grid, sample recording, live looping, and performing. An x-y pad controls effects, an internal mixer balances levels, and a sample editor offers multiple ways to modify waveforms. The variety is designed to make it easy to start new projects and fun to play around with ideas, while also supplying enough of what's needed to tweak spontaneous sonic sketches into finished tracks.

Mobile Apps: 2018 Q1 Downloads And Spending Accelerate

Top-line stats show a blossoming market for new and proven categories in mobile apps, while Apple iOS and Google Play narrow each other's leads in spending and downloads

Philip Merrill

GRAMMYs

Apr 10, 2018 - 1:13 pm

On April 9 analyst firm App Annie released first-quarter statistics for the mobile app economy, tracking strong growth in initial installs and purchases worldwide for Apple iOS and Google Play. The stores' combined growth in downloads is 10 percent year over year for a total of 27.5 billion downloads for the first quarter. Additionally, iOS narrowed its gap with the leader Google Play by 10 percent quarter over quarter.

The growth in total spending is even more robust and reflects only initial purchases for 22 percent year-over-year growth with a total of $18.4 billion. Apple iOS is the leader for spending but Google Play narrowed that lead by 10 percent quarter over quarter. The two competitors closed each other's leads by 10 percent, suggesting the underlying health and strength of the market.

"Across all categories, Music & Audio and Entertainment apps experienced the largest market share growth of global consumer spend on Google Play, both quarter over quarter and year over year," App Annie wrote regarding its findings. "This speaks to the larger trend of consumers choosing to sign up and pay for music streaming and video streaming subscriptions in apps. The experience is quick, frictionless and secure, which is an inherent benefit mobile apps provide over other channels ..."

$18.4 billion in consumer spend. 27.5 billion downloads. We just crunched the Q1 2018 app store numbers and once again several huge records were broken. Get the full run down and analysis in our latest Insights blog post -https://t.co/rYPBFeKvgDpic.twitter.com/qEvL3iErxo

At the end of the quarter, App Annie found there were a total of 6.2 million apps available in the combined iOS and Google Play stores. Users have been accessing roughly 40 apps in the course of a normal month and devote about three hours every day to using them. A closer review yields the numbers also show a rapid rate of adoption for new categories of apps once they have proven themselves, such as for streaming music or fitness, suggesting future app niches could catch on quickly once they too demonstrate their benefit and convenience.

The end of the year global spend for 2017 was $86 billion for initial purchases of app downloads. Several categories of business revenue, such as third-party ad payments, are not counted in that figure. Although developing countries grow rapidly, so do maturing categories of consumer apps in established markets. Add it all together and this looks more like a takeoff than a boom.

Apple Pledges $1 Million For Southern California Fire Relief

In both Northern and Southern California, Apple's welcome generosity benefits victims of 2017 wildfires who need it the most

Philip Merrill

GRAMMYs

Dec 12, 2017 - 4:08 pm

Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Apple pledged $1 million on Dec. 12 for relief and rebuilding efforts in response to the devastation caused by the Southern California wildfires. These have consumed areas equivalent in size to entire cities and are not yet entirely contained.

This is the company's second gift this year to fight fire devastation in California. In October Apple also donated $1 million, at that time to fight fires raging in Northern California.

"Our thoughts are with all those affected by the fires in Southern California, including our colleagues, friends and their families," Apple said. "Apple is donating $1 million to aid in the rebuilding and recovery efforts of the communities that have been impacted." The company also expects to make digital media fundraising solicitations across its digital platforms.

Apple Acquires Music Recognition Service Shazam

A timely and major acquisition of Shazam by Apple heralds greater integration for music listening ahead

Philip Merrill

GRAMMYs

Dec 11, 2017 - 12:15 pm

Apple is one of the top global companies and pioneers legal music online. While it builds marketshare for its Apple Music streaming service music recognition platform Shazam looks like a perfect match.

Tipped to TechCrunch on Dec. 8 and confirmed by Apple on Dec. 11, the deal is estimated in the $400 million range. Apple used the word "thrilled" to describe merging Shazam's corporate vision and trajectory into the Apple Music experience.

"Today, [Shazam is] used by hundreds of millions of people around the world across multiple platforms," Apple said in a statement provided to Billboard. "Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users."

This acquisition has a nice glow because Shazam has been such a must-have app for years, and like many other services, has struggled to survive. It remains to be seen what Apple does with its "hundreds of millions" Shazam users.

Analysts Estimate Apple iPhone X Sales As Spectacular

The latest Rosenblatt analysis of Apple iPhone X sales reveals impressive estimates, with 6 million unit sales over Black Friday weekend alone and a total of 15 million sold to date.

In a world where people reach out to one another through technology, Apple's user base continues to see the company as their partner in connecting them to the world. Some observers were concerned that the top 256GB model might be priced high, but the fact that it is selling twice as fast as the 64GB model suggests consumer demand for the high-capacity model.

Because of Apple's corporate position in the marketplace, financial analysts are alert to how well its gear is selling. For the music and media industries, the consequences go way beyond Apple's corporate posture because the cultural and social experience using devices like the iPhone is transforming our collective context. But one record that's hard to ignore is the more than 78 million iPhone units Apple sold in the 2016 holiday quarter.

Once it's time to look back on 2017, the real excitement will be to see how people use their new power to communicate in ways that combine the innovative with the established. Mobile technology leaders generally are literally putting power in the hands of people everywhere. As streaming services keep building out the legit market for music and media, this virtuous circle between manufacturers and consumers could not come at a better time.

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.